~*~*~Eye for an Eye~*~*~
by Lashes
Summary: Ever wondered how Newsies became Newsies? Well here is the story of Kid Blink, before the patch. For Newsie fans, and for people who have never even heard of it before!
1. The Boy in the Graveyard

Philly, March 5, 1890

The churchyard was quiet, all except for the night watch twirling his keys and whistling. He went around back to where the graves were all laid in rows. It wasn't a very pleasant scene, the lantern shining on the graves, and the watchman gave a shudder. As you can guess, this wasn't his favorite part of the job, and he wanted to leave as quickly as possible. He held up his light just to make certain the yard was empty when the light fell upon a boy. He was small, no more than 8, and he seemed to have fallen asleep while leaning on the grave. The watchman wondered if he was homeless….but no, his clothes weren't dirty enough. He walked over to the boy to wake him, when he stepped on a twig and snapped it. The boy heard the noise and raised his head to find the watchman holding his light up to get a better look at him. 

"Hello there, are you lost?" asked the watchman

"No, I just fell asleep" the boy replied standing up and dusting himself off. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked as if he had just noticed the darkness.

The watchman took out his clock. "Well, I would say it is about half past seven." He hesitated, "Isn't it a bit late for you to be out?"

The color drained from the boy's face. Half past seven? He thought. Oh no, father will be waiting…..

"Are you alright?" the watchman asked, thinking that the boy looked awfully pale. But the boy ran past him before he could get an answer. The watchman shrugged it off and went back to his job, checking the graves and mumbling to himself. "Bloody children, treated adults with more respect when I was that age. You ask a question and you get an answer….."


	2. Hayden

The boy ran the whole way home with the occasional curses under his breath. He finally stopped when he reached the door of the apartment. He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly, just in case his father had fallen asleep….But no such luck. He saw his dad at the table, his back turned to him. He also saw his sister down the hall curled up on the couch. The boy let the door close with a click. The father, hearing the door turned around and saw his son. Uh o, he thought, now I'm in for it…

"Hayden!" the father shouted. 

"y...y..yes dad?" the boy, Hayden, answered.

"What have I told you? It is past dark and I want my dinner!" His face was already getting red. Hayden knew his father wouldn't be like this if he weren't drunk. 

"I have told you so many times! There are rules in this house that need to be obeyed! Do you think that you are an exception to those rules??"

"No sir," Hayden stammered. He knew all too well what came after the shouting, and he dreaded it every time. 

"Someone needs to teach you a lesson! And I suppose I am the one to do that! Since your mother had to go and die on me!!"

Hayden knew why his mother had died. He may be young (even though he acted older that his age), but he sure wasn't stupid. He didn't even think that his father knew the real reason why his mother was dead anymore. He had said that it was her fault so many times, that he had started to believe his own lies. He knew how his father had beaten his mother, beaten her until her body couldn't take it any more. He had to watch it every night, his sister did too. He even beat them sometimes. But now that their mother was gone, his favorite target was Hayden. He beat him almost every night now, and his sister too, although less often. Hayden hated the way he was so powerless against this man he was forced to call his father. He hated how he controlled his life. Hated how he couldn't help his sister. And well, he just plain hated everything about him. 

Every time his father mentioned his mother, Hayden felt his heart tug at him. She never deserved the life he gave her. No, she was so much better than that…….

"Ha! Your mother!" he yelled, "She was worthless! All she was good for was cooking and cleaning, but even you are more worthless! You can't even get home in time to cook me my dinner!"

Hayden felt the blood rising in his face and clenched his fists. He knew he could do nothing, so he stood there and braced himself, taking all the verbal abuse, while waiting for the physical….

"You worthless piece a…" His father walked over to him and struck him across the face. It was a heavy blow, and would have knocked any eight year old down. His father picked him up and hit him across the cheek again. Once Hayden had crumpled to the floor, he came over and gave him a final kick in the stomach. He had found by now that not fighting back would make it go faster. 

"Don't even fight back, you're pathetic." 

Besides the pain, Hayden had a lot of things on his mind. Most of them things to say….but he knew what would happen if he did. 

His father went back to the table and sat down grabbing his beer. He gave a horrible laugh before taking one last swig and laying his head on the table. It wasn't long before his snores filled the apartment and Hayden dared to move. 

Author's Note: Ok, I know it is brutal….but it kinda has to be. I will try to make it happier from now on!!


	3. Lissy

Hey all, I just wanted to thank everyone for reviewing!! This is my first Newsie fic, well actually my first fic period, so I need all the tips, ideas, or whatever, that I can get. So please keep reviewing and I will try to keep updating a lot, like I have been so far. Of course that all depends on if my brother doesn't hog the cpu…so enjoy!

Rae: Yes it's Lissy time….

Rabbit: I will try to read your stories as soon as I can.

Tiger: I like the name Hayden too!! J

Singah: Are you sure I might not be passin ya up soon? And speaking of updating….write quicker!!

He was still lying on the ground when he felt a small hand touch his back.

"Hayden?" said a whisper. "Hayden, are you ok?"

He rolled over with a groan to find his sister Melissa kneeling beside him concerned. She was a slight figure in her nightdress, with her blond hair hanging down her back. She was looking at him with her hazel eyes and dark lashes. You couldn't help but look at her eyes and not think they were beautiful. 

"Yea Lissy, I'm fine." He answered, thinking that she worried too much for a five year old. But glad that she was there. Her face never failed to cheer him, even if just a little.

She gave him a squinty searching look. "Are you sure? Cause you don't look so hot."

"Yes Lissy, I'm sure I'll be fine." He said smiling and giving her a hug. She always seemed to find something to say to make him smile. 

"Are you hungry?" He asked her, on cue with his growling stomach.

"A little bit, yea."

"Ok, I'll grab you something." He said standing up. His head was already aching and he knew that his face was already starting to bruise. Melissa saw that she was having trouble so she took his arm.

"Hayden, why don't you go lie down? I can grab us some food." She was small for her age and barely tall enough to reach the counter. 

"That's alright Lissy, I can do it."

She gave him a look that plainly said 'that wasn't a suggestion.'

"Ok, ok, I give." He complied as she took him to his room and told him to lie down. 

"You know, you act way to grown up for a five year old."

"I do not!"

He smiled to himself. "Alright, what ever you say Miss Lissy."

She grinned at the title and went to the kitchen. He could see her through the door, standing on her tiptoes trying to reach the bread. Once she reached the bread, she took the knife and started cutting it. When she was done, she grabbed some cheese and a wet towel. She came back into the room with a triumphant look on her face as she held up the bread and cheese. 

"See!"

He looked at the unevenly cut bread and gave her a smile. "You could be a famous chef someday, ya know that?"

"Naw, it's just bread and cheese!" She giggled, obviously pleased by his complement.

Hayden took a bite of cheese. "Ah, but this no regular meal. I think this must be the best bread and cheese that I have had in….ever."

She laughed again, he loved making her laugh.

"C'mere Lissy."

She went over to his bed and sat down next to him, munching with pride on her meal. She suddenly remembered the wet towel she had brought.

"O yea, here ya go." She said placing it where a bruise was forming.

"Thanks Lissy, that feels much better. With you as my nurse, I'll be better in no time." He doubted the 'better in no time' part, but as he intended, it made her smile.

"I guess I could be a famous nurse one day to, huh?"

"Sure."

She was silent for a minute. "Hayden?"

"Yea Lissy?"

"Where were you tonight?"

"I was visiting mom….and I fell asleep."

"Well," she hesitated. "I was just thinking, maybe if you had come home on time…. daddy wouldn't have hurt you. And maybe if we were really good, he would stop."

He gave a sigh and thought to himself, 'I don't think that he will ever stop,' but said "Maybe Lissy, Maybe."

"Hayden, do you think that I could sleep with you tonight?"

"Yea, I would like that."

"Thanks. Are you feeling better?"

"Almost as good as new, all thanks to my wonderful nurse."

She gave a smile and lay down with a yawn, curled up next to Hayden.

"Goodnight Hayden."

"Night Lissy, sweet dreams."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And with that she was asleep. It was a while before Hayden could quiet his mind. But he finally did, with a last look at Lissy, smiling in her sleep. 

Author's Note: It actually might be a few chapters before it gets happier…sorry. But I didn't label it angst for nothing!!


	4. Rude Awakenings

Disclaimer: Hey just wanted to say that the characters that Disney made up, well they belong to them, even if I do make up my own personality's for em I guess. And my own Characters, like Lissy, well they are mine! If any of you are writing stories out there and want to use a character from my story, I don't really mind but ask me first ok? Thanx. That's all I wanted to say….so read on!

Singah: What are you talking about?? Miss Edith? And Lissy is kinda me, but also not, umm…Do you get that? Or am I making no sense?

Lissy woke up with the sun shining in her eyes. Not wanting to get up yet, she turned her back to the window, now facing Hayden's sleeping form. She watched him for a while, studying his face. It was hard not to notice the big bruise on his left cheek. Their father didn't often hit them in the face; it was too noticeable. But last night he was drunk on an empty stomach, clouding his mind even more than usual.

Pretty soon Melissa got tired of just laying there. After all it was morning and she had lots of energy, making it hard to stay still for too long. So she decided to wake Hayden. Figuring that dad was already at work (from lack of noise) she could make it as loud as possible, she thought grinning….

WHACK!! She smacked the sleeping Hayden with all her might (which was surprisingly strong for a small five year old) with her pillow. As you can well imagine, he was awake instantly. The first thing he heard, besides the whack, was Lissy giggling uncontrollably. As soon as he had figured out what happened, he grabbed his own pillow and hit her back. Of course, holding back a bit. Even though Lissy was strong, he was much stronger. What all started with a whack ended up in an all-out pillow fight. Complete with multiple bashings and lots of jumping on the bed.

Both of their energy spent, they collapsed on the bed next to each other.

"Truce?" Hayden asked, panting.

"Truce," said Lissy holding out her hand. While the other hand was behind her back with crossed fingers.

"Let me see your other hand."

"This is my other hand."

"Hold out both of them." 

"Why?"

"Because I know you must have your fingers crossed."

"No! Not me…"

"Let me see them then."

"Fine…" she said holding out both of her hands this time, (and her tongue too).

"Ok, now shake." He agreed, doing the same. 

They knew each other so well by now that it wasn't that hard to spot when the other wasn't being entirely truthful, or hiding crossed fingers behind theirs backs…So they shook truce and followed their growling stomachs to the kitchen. 

Authors Note: Ok, here is a happy chapter. But remember, this story is angst. Sorry if the chapter is kinda short, but I wrote most of it last night, and when finishing it this morning the voices went on vacation……Any ideas or comments, then pleez tell me! Thanx!


	5. Kid and Bottlecap

After they had finished eating, Hayden decided that he better be going. He was a newsie, and most of the papers would be handed out by now. He had become a newsie when his mother dies. When she was alive, she was a seamstress or whatever odd jobs were hanging about. Hayden worked to try to make up for a little of the money that used to be the share his mom earned. He liked being a newsie though. He got fresh air, made some money, and it was an excuse to get out of the house. 

"Well Miss Lissy, it's been fine dining with you, but I really mush go." He said formally, hoping to make her laugh. But she had quite a different reaction.

"Awww." She was immediately downcast.

"What?"

"It's so boring here! There is nothing to do, all...by…my…self." she whined, letting it sink in. 

"Hey! That's not fair!" She was giving him 'the look.' For all of you out there, I don't think you need an explanation of 'the look.' It is a powerful weapon is used accordingly. And for Hayden….something that he just couldn't stand.

"Ok! Ok! Fine! I give in! You can go sell with me. Just don't give me that look, you know I can't take it." Well, lets just say that she knew all right.

"Yay!" she said excitedly, pleased with herself. And very proud, might I add, of her convincing skills.

"Now go get your shoes! I have to be leaving." He had to admit that he was glad she was coming. She would keep him company, and a cute face always sold more papers.

"C'mon! We have to meet Bottlecap. I told him that I would sell with him today!"

"I'm coming!" She squealed. She knew he wouldn't leave with out her, but she still didn't want to take a chance. She ran out of her room with her shoes tied. It was a recent accomplishment for her, and she still had a look of success on her face.

"Ok, let's go!" he said grabbing his newsie hat off the coat rack. 

~~~~~=~~~~~

"40 papes Splat." Hayden wasn't quite sure why they called him that. He figured there was some reason behind it. He didn't really care to find out. He had some feeling it probably had to do with him falling down stairs and landing with a SPLAT…but he erased that from his mind. 

"Are you sure only 40? I bet ya could sell 50 with that adorable little face wid ya." He was always trying Hayden for more money.

"That's a bet I can't take you up on, I got plenty here. Thanks Splat."

"No problem. See ya 'round Kid."

Hayden and Lissy walked to his normal selling spot and saw Bottlecap there waiting for them. While he was waiting he was flipping his lucky bottlecap like he always did. That's how he came by his name. Hayden didn't know what his real one was though.

"Heya Bottlecap, how are the headlines."

"Same as usual Kid." Hayden didn't know why he called him Kid; he was guessing it was just because he was younger, and it just kinda stuck. 

"I see ya brought the squirt."

"Don't call me that!"

"Well ya are."

"I could soak ya for that!"

"You? Soak me?" he started laughing.

She ran up to him while he was still laughing and kicked him hard in the shin.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Calling me squirt!"

"Why I oughtta…"

Bottlecap started after Lissy but Hayden stepped in front of him. He had been watching the whole thin and laughed the whole time. 

"Ok, this is where I step in. Bottlecap, no. Lissy, don't beat him up, you know he can't handle himself."

"Hey!"

"We have papers to sell." He said changing the subject. "So what are the headlines?"

"Ah, just something about a murder. Not too big but it makes a nice headline."

"Psycho murder! Hundreds in the hunt for killer!"


	6. We can try

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is short. But the voices have left me for a bit and school is back in, so not as much time. This was written mostly in Spanish period yesterday and today….So if you have any ideas, pleez tell me, because the voices r are slackin. Thanx!! :)

Rae: I kinda stole one of you sayings…is that ok??

Stage: I didn't know what to do for that headline…haha, it was late and I just wanted to finish the chapter.

"Ok Lissy, time to go home." Hayden said as he sold his last paper.

"See ya later Bottlecap."

"Aight Kid, take care of yourself."

He had definitely noticed the large bruise on Hayden's cheek, and his previous bruises. He wasn't as good at hiding them as he thought he was. Besides, Bottlecap knew a thing or two, and it was hard to slip something past him.

"You need any help, well, don't forget me."

Bottlecap lived in the Philly lodging house. There wasn't much room, but had told Hayden that he was always welcome to stay there, he and even Lissy. But Hayden had said no, knowing that his father wouldn't allow it. Even if he did leave, his father would come to the lodging house and take him back, so what was the point?

"Thanks Bottlecap. Same thing tomorrow? Or are you gonna sell with your lady friend again?" He asked teasingly, with an obvious emphasis on friend. 

"Naw." He answered with a smile. "Same thing tomorrow."

"See ya then."

"See ya Kid, Squirt."

"Hey!" Lissy piped up.

"Walk squirt."

"Hayden!"

"What?"

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"C'mon, let's just go home." He said laughing.

After they had been walking in silence for a few minutes, Hayden could tell that there was something on Lissy's mind.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

After a while she answered. "Well….do you remember what we talked about last night? I mean, about being good for daddy?"

"Yea."

"Do you think we could try it?"

He sighed. "Sure Lissy." He would try, but he knew that it wouldn't work. If his father was drunk, there was no stopping him. But he would try, if just for Lissy's sake. "We can try it."

"Ok." She said with a smile on her face, starting to skip. He didn't want her to be disappointed when it didn't work. So he was trying to think of ways to try extra hard, even if it didn't come out. He figured that the best approach was just to stay out of the way. He didn't want to ruin Lissy's mood, so he just put a smile on, as they walked home from just another day of carrying the banner. 


	7. Bitter Sweet

It was getting late by the time that they got home from selling and running around. The apartment was empty and you could see the sun setting through the window. It was a pretty one that night, with lots of oranges, pinks, and purples. But they knew that their dad would be home soon, so Hayden decided to start cooking up the dinner. If they were going to try and be good, they had better get some food for their dad. Lissy was watching Hayden work, nothing special, just some grilled cheese sandwiches. When they had been walking home one of their friends selling in a fruit stand a few streets over had given them some cherries. They didn't usually eat things like that because Hayden didn't make all too much money. And even if a little was missing, his father would want to know what he had bought. So it was a treat. 

"Mmm...These are good!" Lissy said after taking a bunch of cherries into her hands and stuffing them in her face. 

Hayden laughed. "Slow down there ya little pig, I only have so many!"

"Yea, and I am gonna eat 'em all!" She giggled making oinking noises.

"Well at least let me have some before you do." He said grabbing a few. For a small and skinny five year old, she sure could eat a lot!

All of a sudden they heard loud and uneven footfalls on the stairs leading up to their floor, and then come toward the end of the hall where their apartment was.

"Looks like dads home." Breathed Hayden.

"Remember, we are gonna act good right?"

"Yea, act good. Yea." The both had their eyes glued to the door, waiting for the doorknob to turn. 

The footsteps stopped right outside their door. They heard a key scraping against the knob, and a slight swear. Hayden supposed that his father couldn't fit the key in the hole....That meant that he had to quite drunk tonight. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that their plan wasn't going to work, not if he was going to be like that. Finally, they heard the key slide into the hole, and the click as it was turned. The knob was turned and the door swung in ward to the apartment. Their dad staggered in and closed the door, not even bothering to take the key out of the hole. Hayden could smell the alcohol on him and watched his father as he stopped and tried to focus his eyes.

"What are you looking at? And where the hell is my dinner?" he slurred, still trying to focus. 

"On the table." Hayden said pointing to his dinner.

He looked at the table, and stumbled over to his seat, almost falling over when he tried to sit down. He saw the cherries and looked at the confusedly for a while. 

"What are those?"

"Oh, nothing. Just some cherries…" Hayden answered cautiously.

"Where did you get them? Did you pay for them with my money?" 

"No. Someone gave them to us."

"People don't just give away things you stupid boy! You have to pay for things! That was my money!"

"I didn't use your money." Hayden was frightened; he never wanted to see his father like this. He hated how the alcohol made him trigger so easily. He was like a loaded gun when he drank. And Hayden was always the one he shot. 

"Are you calling me a liar? Are YOU calling ME a goddamn liar?" he yelled starting to get up. Hayden backed away, his mind racing. His father was being so irrational it was pathetic. 

"No." he stammered, there was no way of getting out of it now. Dammit, he thought, if only I had just gone into the other room when I heard him! How could I have been so stupid? He always ended up thinking things like this and blaming himself. He knew it was his father's fault, but he still partially blamed himself. 

His father advanced on Hayden, raising his arm, when they both heard a squeak.

"No."

Their father turned around to find Lissy standing behind him, tears already in her eyes. 

"No daddy, please don't. He didn't do it."

"What is this? Trying to defend your damn brother?" He asked in a pouty voice.

"I..I…I.." she stammered as he raised his arm.


	8. Stay Strong

He advanced on Lissy as he raised his arm. She put her arms up over her face, trying to shelter herself, when he struck her arms away and smacked her across the face. She couldn't take the blow, and collapsed. When he picked her back up and prepared to hit her again, Hayden spoke up. 

"Stop it!" 

Their father turned around, surprised. Hayden was usually too frightened to say anything, but this time he could not stand to see it. "What? Do you want to be taught a lesson too?"

"And what would that lesson be?"

"Don't be a smart ass with me boy." He yelled dropping Lissy, as Hayden had hoped, and coming towards Hayden again. 

"Don't you touch me!" Hayden screamed. 

His father started laughing. "Are you trying to tell me what to do?" He grabbed Hayden's arm, his grip like steel. He felt that if his father didn't let go that his arm would break. But he finally let go so that he could hit him. Hayden looked at his arm and could see the marks that the fingers had made. He could tell that they were already starting to bruise. His father then dealt him a blow right to the side of his head. Hayden's vision blacked for a second, as he staggered backwards trying to find balance in his new dizziness.

He heard his sister say something but he couldn't concentrate. He wondered why his father wasn't hitting him. And then he realized that if he wasn't getting beat, that his sister must be. That thought brought him back to his senses real quick. He pushed his dizziness and pounding headache aside, and saw his father drawing back to hit Lissy again. He didn't know how many times he had hit her already. Looking around frantically for something to help him, his eyes fell on a vase on the table next to the door. Getting up, he stumbled towards the door and grabbed the vase. He walked up behind his father, holding it over his head, and brought it down. 

Their father let his grip on Lissy go and fell over. Hayden was still looking at what he had done in shock when he heard Lissy whimper. 

"Is he dead? He's not dead…." 

Hayden walked over and knelt down beside her. She flung his arms around him and a new wave of tears flowed down her face and racked her body. Hugging her, Hayden reached over to his father's motionless body, to see if he was breathing. He felt a slight air on his hand and was surprised that he didn't feel relieved. He knew that he would be knocked out until at least morning; the alcohol would keep him under until then. 

"C'mon Lissy." He said picking her up in his arms. "Lets go to our room."

He carried her into his room and set her down on the bed. She finally let her arms unlock from around his neck and looked at him, tears staining her face. 

"Hayden?" she asked. "Why are you blinking like that?"

He hadn't even noticed that he was doing it. He had been blinking, trying to keep the tears from flowing. He didn't want his sister to see him cry, he wanted to be strong for her. "I don't know Lissy." 

"Well, you do it a lot after dad hurts us, and I didn't know what it meant."

"It's nothing Lissy. Just forget about it." Stay strong, he told himself. It was hard. Just then an idea popped into his head. He knew that he couldn't take his father's abuse, and he didn't want his sister to take it either.

"Ok Lissy, let's go."

"What? Where are we going?" she asked, confused.

"Just get your stuff, we are leaving."

"But..?"

"Lissy, I am not going to let this happen anymore, we are going to leave this house. When you get ready, I will tell you where we are going."

She was still confused. She wanted to leave this house, and the things that had happened here with it, but it was the only place she had every called home. She didn't want to argue, and she figured that anything would be better that staying there, so she started gathering her few things. 

"You ready?" He asked taking Lissy's hand after gathering all the money that he had made, and a bit more figuring that he had deserved it. 

"Yea. I don't think I am forgetting anything."

"Don't worry about it."

"Where are we going?" She said stopping after they had stepped out the door.

Hayden gave a sigh as he turned to her. He sure hoped that this would work. 


	9. Don't you mean we?

Author's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks for reading and for all of your reviews, I got a real out burst after chapter 7, ha ha. I know I have been slow for posting as of late, sorry!! Back to school and all….eck. But, I am now sick so I should have a lot of at home time to write. So I will try to get a few chapters up soon. Thanx again for reviewing, and remember, all ideas are welcome!! Ok, I am done, you can go read now!

Rae: Thanx for the ideas!! They are great and they should fit in really well with all the things I have planned. Thank you!!

Amazing-moth, Stage: Thanx again for reviewing. 

Inky: Believe me….I agree!

"Where are we going?" She said stopping after they had stepped out the door.

Hayden gave a sigh as he turned to her. He sure hoped that this would work. 

Bending down so that he was at eye-level with her, he started to explain. "Lissy, I cannot stay in this house any longer, and I am not going to let you stay here either. We do no deserve this. That bastard can make his own meals from now on. Soo…we are leaving."

"I know! But where are we leaving to?" She nearly yelled it; she was getting so frustrated with him beating around the bush. 

"Well." He hesitated. "I am going to New York."

She stared at him for a moment. "I? You only said I. Don't you mean we?"

"No, Lissy. I meant that I am going to New York. You…you are staying here in Philly."

She stood shocked for another moment, and then she gathered her wits. "Hayden! You are not leaving me here! I am going with you wherever you go! You cannot leave me! Please Hayden! Do not leave me alone! I love you, and I don't want you to leave me! Please?"

He knew that she would want to go with him, but the answer had to be no. "I'm sorry Lissy…I can't." He didn't want to say it, but it had to be. 

"Why are you leaving me? I don't understand. What do I have to do to make you say yes?" She demanded, starting to cry. 

"Lissy, don't cry. I'm sorry. But you can't go. You are too young and it is too dangerous. I don't have the money for both of us. I will come back for you, I promise." He didn't want to see her cry again. This time he was the cause of her tears, and he almost started crying himself.

"I don't want you to come back for me, I want you to take me with you now." She sobbed throwing her arms around him. 

"Lissy…I'm sorry. I have to go alone." He wished that she could come; she couldn't imagine how much he wanted her to. "Come on." He said, unlatching his arms and drying her tears, trying to hold back his own. "We have to leave. I am going to take you to the Lodging House."

"The Lodging House? Why there?" She asked, suddenly even more confused.

"Because it's the only place I know of. You will not get beaten there, and Bottlecap will take care of you." He could not think of a better idea, it was the only possibility.

"I don't want to go there. Bottlecap doesn't like me."

"Yes he does. He just likes to give you a hard time. I will tell him to be nice, don't worry."

"But I want you to go there with me."

"Please Lissy. I know, don't make this any harder than it already is."

"Sorry…"

"Ok, we really have to go now. It's already late."

She sighed. If she hadn't talked him out of it by now, she figured that she wasn't going to. She didn't really understand why he was leaving her, no matter how much he tried to justify his actions. So she just took his hand and followed him, crying silently.


	10. What is goin on?

Singah: This is where you come in!! I am working on how to fit in all the rest too.

Inky: I know, tis sad. But it has to be sad before it can get better!

Rae and Moth: Thanx for the reviews!!

They walked to the Lodging House without saying a word. Hayden didn't know what he could say. He felt that he must be a horrible person, leaving his sister behind like this, but there was no other way! Besides, he would come back for her. She was still only five; he couldn't really expect her to understand. He just didn't want her to hate him for leaving.

They reached the Lodging House and Hayden stopped. "Lissy?"

"What?"

"Please don't hate me for doing this." If she hated him, he just couldn't bear it.

"I don't hate you." She said surprised. No matter what he did, he was still her brother. She didn't want him to leave her, but she believed him when he said that he would come back. 

He sighed, and knocked on the door. He waited a minute and no one answered. So he knocked again. This time, he heard footsteps coming. The person who belonged to the footsteps opened up the door and peeked out. 

"Isn't it a little after hours for you to be out?" It was an older man, with graying hair and a kind face. 

"Sorry, but is Bottlecap here?"

"He's in his bunk, it's past curfew."

"Please, I really need to talk to him."

The man saw the worried look on Hayden's face, and the scared looking little girl clutching his hand. "Well alright then, come in. Wait there and I will go get him." He pointed to a sitting room with some furniture scattered about and walked up some stairs at the other side of the hall.

"See Lissy, it doesn't look too bad, now does it." She didn't answered, just took a deep breath and loosened her grip a little.

They both turned when they heard steps coming down the stairs. It was Bottlecap. Lissy gripped his hand hard again.

"Kid, what are you doing here?" he asked groggily, he had just fallen asleep, and wasn't too kindly to having been waken up.

"Bottlecap, remember when you said we could stay here?" He asked timidly.

"Yea, I remember. Do you and the squirt wanna stay here?"

"Well, just the squirt."

Bottlecap thought for a moment. "How's about you Kid?"

"I…I can't stay. I am leaving Philly, going to New York."

"Woah woah, so you are leaving Philly, and you want the squirt to stay here?" He knew how much the Kid loved the little squirt, and was finding it hard to believe that he would leave her here.

"Yea, if she can, that is." He saw the hesitant look on Bottlecap's face and started again. "Look, if there was any other way, I would take it. But I don't know what else to do. Please Bottlecap, can she stay here? She can be a good newsie too. She's seen me do it enough times."

Bottlecap thought for a minute. "Lucky for you, we just took in another little girl. She needs someone to share a bunk with, and to keep her company. She is the only girl we have"

"Really?" Hayden asked, relieved.

"Her name is Singah. Just picked her up off the streets a few days back. I 'tink she's about, just turned six? I dunno, she's not quite sure herself." Bottlecap could tell that by the look on her face that Lissy didn't want to be there, he was trying to give some comfort in the thought of a friend, but she didn't really seem to be comforted at all.

"Umm, well, do you wanna go see where your bunk will be?" He didn't know what to say, but it looked like she had been through a lot and needed to lie down. 

When she didn't answer, Hayden did for her. "Yea, sure."

"Follow me then." He said leading the way up the stairs. He then took a left turn and opened the door to a room, nothing in it except for a few empty bunks. Well, mostly empty. One of them had in it, the small form of a sleeping girl. Her back was turned to them, so they could only see her long and wavy blond hair. 

"You will have this room all to yourselves, you and Singah. We can't quite have the boys and girls in the same room." He chuckled. But, seeing as no one else was, he just said. "Ok then, you can use that bunk tonight." He pointed to the one next to the girl. "There are a few blankets in the closet there. So you can make the bed." Still getting no response from either of them, Bottlecap looked at Hayden. "Kid, I need to talk with you. Leave the squirt." Hayden followed him out the door and closed it behind him. 

"What?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. What the hell is going on?"

"I told you. I am going to New York, and Lissy is staying here."

"Listen Kid, why don't you stay here? You're already a newsie, and you would get along great with the other guys."

Hayden shook his head. "No, I already decided. I can't change my mind now."

"But why?" Bottlecap thought he had been patient so far, but now he wanted answers.

"This is hard enough as it is without having to explain it to you!" He nearly yelled it. But at seeing the look on Bottlecap's face, he knew he had to explain. "Sorry." He said taking a deep breath. "We cannot stay in that house anymore. I can't handle it. And I can't stay here in the Lodging House because if I do, my father will find me. That is why I have to leave. I have nowhere to go. But Lissy….he won't expect her to be here. So she will be safe. I don't have the money to bring her with me right now. I will come back for her when I do have the money."

Bottlecap was silent. "Ok, now you are making some sort of sense. But how do you plan on getting to New York?"

"Train."

"But those are expensive, how are you gonna get the money?"

"I have money." He said, patting his pocket.

"Well it's too late to leave now. You're gonna have ta wait for the morning to leave. Are you sure I can't talk you into staying?"

"Yep."

"Aight then Kid, I guess this is good bye."

"Guess so."

Bottlecap spit in his hand and held it out. Hayden did the same and they shook. 

"Good Luck, and take care of yourself, ya hear?"

"I will, thanks."

Bottlecap turned and walked down the other side of the hall and through the door. When he heard the door click, Hayden sighed and went back into the girls bunkroom. Closing the door behind him, he looked up and saw Lissy sitting on the bed waiting for him.

Authors Note: I hope this chapter is long enough for all of you! Sorry I haven't been updating a whole lot lately. The voices need to give me more ideas. They're up there, just not coming out quite right. So please review! Thanx!


	11. The Last Goodbye

Authors' Note: Thanx to all my reviewers!! Inky, Singah, Rae, MooBug, Tiger, Stage, Moth, and FictionHobbit. Thank you all, and keep it up!! (hint hint) ;-)

Closing the door behind him, he looked up and saw Lissy sitting on the bed waiting for him. She raised her head and he could see the tears already in her eyes.

"Hayden please?"

"Lissy, I'm sorry, I love you. But I can't take you with me. There is no way. I don't have the money and it is way too dangerous."

"If it's so dangerous, then why are you going?"

"You don't understand! I will not stay in that house anymore! And I can't stay here in Philly because we both know that dad will find me if I do."

"Well what about me? Won't he find me here?"

"I don't think so. He has no reason to suspect you as a newsie."

"Are you sure?" She was terrified at the thought of him finding her. Their father was horrible enough as it was, but if he found them after they had run away? He would be furious. And she didn't think that if Hayden was gone, that she could handle that all by herself. "Because if he found me…and I didn't have you…"

"Don't worry Lissy, Bottlecap will take care of you. He won't let that happen."

"But I don't want him to take care of me!! I want you to take care of me!" She nearly yelled it. Hayden hushed her, he had forgotten about the girl in the other bunk until she said something in her sleep. 

"Hush."

"But Hayden, I love you." She said throwing her arms around him. "I want to go with you. I don't care if it is dangerous. Please? How many times do I have to say please?" She begged.

"Don't say it anymore, the answer is no. I'm sorry. And you may not care if it is, but I do. I don't want you to get hurt." He choked. It was so hard for him not to cry. He didn't want to do it. But he kept asking himself, what else is there for me to do? And the answer was always the same, nothing.

"I will do anything." Lissy cried.

Hayden could feel the sobs racking her body and thought his heart would break. "You know that I love you, and I wouldn't leave you if there was any other way, but there just isn't. Please stop crying." He knew that she wouldn't, or couldn't, but he still couldn't bear it. "Don't hate me, don't hate me."

"I don't hate you." She gasped through sobs. "Just don't leave me. Don't leave me!"

"Lissy, I...." He didn't know what to say, so he just let her cry.

"I promise I will come back for you, I promise. I have never broken a promise to you yet, and I never will. I'll come back." He whispered. Her crying was getting softer, and finally stopped. He unhooked her arms from around him and laid her down. She had cried herself to sleep. Hayden pulled the cover over her, and kissed her forehead. "I promise."

He just sat there and watched her. After a while he sighed and got up walking to the door. He took one last look at her sleeping form, and closed the door. He walked down the stairs and out the door in a daze. He had just left his sister, that was the only good thing in his life, and he was leaving it behind. The thought hit him in full force and the tears that he had been blinking back for so long started flowing down his face. Soon they were too much and he sank down against the wall of the Lodging House with his head in his hands. 


	12. Leaving Philly

It was a long time before Hayden could stop crying and stand up. But finally, he did, and started walking. He didn't know exactly where he was going or what direction to take, so he decided to just keep walking until he got to the next big town. He didn't want to leave from the train station in Philly, just in case his dad might go there and ask about him. He didn't really think that his dad would go through all the trouble, but he wanted to make sure. So he kept walking.

After about an hour he stopped, realizing how late and dark it was. He was lucky not to have been robbed already, he thought. So he decided to go into the nearest alley and stay there until the sun came up. Sleeping in an alley was much safer than walking all alone down the streets of Philly, he figured. An eight-year-old boy would be a good target, and he couldn't loose the money that he had. Walking to the back he sat down against some crates and put his head down on his knees, falling asleep. 

~*~*~*~

Lissy woke up to the sound of someone shouting.

"Alright newsies! Time to start carrying the banner!"

She was confused for a minute and couldn't figure out where she was. And then everything that had happened the night before came rushing back to her. Pulling her covers over her head, she started to cry again. 

Bottlecap opened the door to make sure that the room's two occupants were up. "Time to carry the banner kids."

Singah got up and yawned, but Lissy stayed under her covers. 

"Lissy, time to get up." He said going over to her bed and pulling back the covers. She looked up at him, and he could see her tears. Bottlecap sighed. 

"Listen squirt, this is the time we get up every morning to go down to the DO." Seeing the look on her face he gave up. "Fine! I will let you stay here today, but just today. Tomorrow is when you will start selling papes with me and Singah, and I can teach you two at the same time. But don't get used to time off, because you are getting up tomorrow. And if you don't, well, you will see what happens to people who sleep in."

Singah giggled. She had only been there a few days, but she had already seen what happened when you slept in. It usually had something to do with an ice-cold bucket of water being poured over your bed. "You don't want that!"

Bottlecap realized that the two girls hadn't met yet. "O yea, Singah, this is Lissy. She is gonna be a newsie now, and is gonna share this room wid ya. And Lissy, this is Singah, she is pretty new too. You have been here for what, maybe three days now?"

Singah shrugged. "I dunno."

"Ok, well now that you have met, Singah, you gotta get ready."

"Can't I stay home too?"

"No, you have to sell today. You are gonna keep me company."

"Fine." 

Bottlecap got up and headed towards the door. He turned around. "Hey squirt, even if you aren't gonna be selling today, breakfast is still in a few minutes so you still gotta get dressed."

When she didn't answer, Singah said "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You keep going on about how we have to get ready, but we can't get ready with a boy in here!" She said with her hands on her hips and a clear emphasis on 'boy'. 

Chuckling, he left the room and closed the door. 

Singah turned to Lissy. "Hi. So, why are you here?" She made it sound like they were in the joint. 

"Why do you care?" She was still trying to hold tears back until this other girl had left, which wasn't easy, and didn't care at the moment if she was being mean.

"Sorry, just wondering." Singah trailed off, grabbing her clothes and starting to change. Once she had finished she gave Lissy a last look and walked out the door. Lissy sunk back down into her bunk and pulled the covers over her head, crying herself back to sleep once again.

Authors Note: Hey everyone, sorry this chapter is kinda short. The voices are there, but they aren't being very talkative. I will try to get more up soon! So please keep reviewing. I like reviews!! *hint hint nudge nudge wink wink* ;)


	13. Do I have to?

Singah walked back into the girls bunkroom. She and Bottlecap had been selling all day and she wanted to rest her feet for a few minutes. After all, she was still getting used to this newsie thing. When she opened the door, she saw the occupied bed, and remembered that she wasn't the only one in there anymore, and groaned.

"Why do I have to share a room with her?" If it were someone who was actually nice and talked to her, she would have a whole different attitude about sharing a room. But, this girl wasn't exactly being nice.

She went back out the door and went in search of Bottlecap. Going down the stairs she spotted him starting a game of poker with a few other of the newsies. 

"Bottlecap?"

"Yea?" He answered distractedly, already absorbed into their game.

"Bottlecap!"

"What?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Uh, yea, sure. Just give me a moment."

She sighed and sat down next to him, waiting for him to deal his hand. Once he had finished he turned to her.

"What do ya need?"

"Well, it's about…what's her name again?"

"Lissy."

"Yea, whatever. Do I have to share my room with her?"

"But you were just complaining yesterday about how you wanted a bunkmate!"

"Well…She is umm. Not what I wanted. I wanted a nice bunkmate!"

"You can't always have your way. You wanted a bunkmate, and you actually got one."

"But she won't talk to me!"

"Listen Singah, she is having a real though time right now. You gotta understand that things aren't easy for her. She needs a friend, she might not act like it but she does. Can you try? Give her a chance?"

"But I did give her a chance. You can't say I didn't try."

"I didn't say that. Just try a little harder?"

"Why should I? Tell me what happened and maybe I will. Because you sure see, to know, and I don't want to be the one left out and not knowing!"

He sighed. "Well, one of the newsies, who doesn't live in the Lodging House, is her brother. They are real close. They lived in a place with their dad who beat them. So last night they left, but her brother went to New York, and she is going to stay here."

"Oh."

"So can you see why she needs a friend? And why she is being mean to you?"

"I guess so. She still doesn't have to bring it out on me."

He gave her one of 'the looks.' "Fine! Fine! I will try then!"

"Alright. Why don't you go up there right now and talk to her?"

"She is asleep."

"Still?" 

"I guess so."

"Well." He said getting up. "It is about time she wakes up."

"Whoa no! She will be mad at you. If she is asleep then she will be mad!"

"Calm down there." He said laughing. "I know her, come one. I will wake her up and then you can make friends." Bottlecap and Singah went upstairs and into the girls bunkroom.

Authors Note: Sorry this is short! My brother has totally been taking over the cpu for the last few days. And the voices are kinda confusing me. So I might not be writing a whole lot...but who knows! So please review! And thank you to all my reviewers! :)


	14. Making Friends

Hayden woke up and lifted his head. It took a minute for him to realize where he was and why he was there. But he did. He looked around him; he hadn't really seen where he was the night before. He was in an alley with a bunch of crates in the back, which he had been sleeping against. Both buildings bordering the alley had fire escapes and a few clotheslines hanging out of the windows. 

Sighing, he stood up and walked out of the alley. It was a few hours after sun up and people were out and walking in the streets. 

He saw a man selling apples by the front of a building and decided to ask where the train station was. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the train station is?"

"Lucky for you, it's close. It is…I am thinking about 3 streets that way." He pointed to the right. "And then turn left and keep walking."

"Thank you." Hayden said smiling. He was on his way.

~*~*~*~

Bottlecap and Singah went upstairs and into the girls bunkroom. Bottlecap walked over to Lissy's bed and sat at the end of it, pulling the covers away gently. "Time for someone to get up."

Lissy stirred and opened her eyes. She saw the smile on Bottlecap's face and frowned.

"Get that frown off your face, or I just might have to tickle you."

She gave him one of those if-you-dare-tickle-me-I-will-soak-you looks.

He grinned and lunged at her. She tried to get away, but it was too late. The tickle-master was already at work. Before she knew it, Lissy was laughing so hard she could hardly breath. Bottlecap stopped and let her catch her breath.

"That's not fair!" She gasped.

"Of course not."

"What do you want?"

"It's time to wake up."

"I got that!"

"Well, you two are gonna make friends."

"Good going with the subtlety." Singah cued in. 

"I wasn't trying to be. Anyways, you two are going to be sharing this bunkroom, and you need to learn to get along, and not ignore each other. Because we will have problems if you don't."

Singah looked at Lissy. "Well, I tried."

"I know Singah, I know. Now Lissy, you gotta try too, ok?"

Lissy sighed. Might as well make the best of it, she thought. "Ok."

"Alright then. I am gonna get back to my poker game. So play nice!"

"We will." They said at the same time, and gave each other strange looks.

"See, you're already singin' the same tune already."

Singah rolled her eyes. "You gonna leave now?"

"Geez, what's with the attitude?" She gave him a look. "Fine! I'm going!" And with that he went out the door. 

Singah turned to Lissy and smiled, spitting in her hand and holding it out. "Heya, I'm Singah."

"I'm Lissy." She replied, smiling and returning the gesture.

Author's Note: I know I don't update often! It's kinda hard to when my brother takes over the computer constantly. Sorry!! Hope you liked that chapter! And please review!


	15. Lashes

Authors Note: Hey! Before you read, I just want to thank all my reviewers! Lucky Windsor, MooBug, Moth, FictionHobbit, Inky, and Cheladoniel. 

Rae: Thanx for dealing with all of my questions, it helped a lot! 

Now on with the reading!!!

Three streets down, a left turn, and a few more blocks later, Hayden reached the train station. It was crowded, and cramped. He saw a sign at the back of the building that said 'Front Desk', so he maneuvered his way through the mass of people until he got into line. Once at the front, he stood on his tiptoes to look taller. 

"Can I help you?" A business-like man in a cheap crisp suit asked. 

"Yea, I was just wondering where the nearest train station was, besides this one."

The man thought for a moment. "I would have to say that the closest one would be Norristown."

"How far is that from here?"

"Fifteen miles, more or less."

"Thank you." Hayden could tell he was starting to get suspicious, so he decided not to push his luck.

He turned and pushed his way back through the doors. Fifteen miles? He thought, his spirit dropping. I am going to have to walk for at least a day to get that far! And it's not like I exactly have enough money to buy food on the way. There had to be a quicker way…

Hayden saw a red-faced man with a big bushy, mostly gray beard. He was just standing there, so Hayden figured that he must be waiting for someone. 

"Excuse me?" He said going up to the man.

"Yes?" the bearded man answered, in a grisly voice.

"Do you know where Norristown is?"

"Well," he cleared his throat. "Norristown eh? That's about, sixteen miles up the river."

"Up the river?" Hayden asked, and idea forming in his head.

"Yep."

"Could you tell me where the docks are?"

"Just keep going that way until you hit the river." He said, pointing down a street to his left. 

"Thanks!" He said, running off in the direction the man had pointed.

~*~*~*~

"So, what's your newsie name?" Singah asked.

"Newsie name?" Lissy replied, confused.

"Well yea, you can't go around being called Lissy, it's your real name."

"Umm, what is your real name? Is Singah you newsie name?"

"Singah is my newsie name. And of you couldn't guess it, it because I sing real good."

"What about your real name?"

"Maybe I will tell you later. We have the name for a reason."

"Oh, ok. Sorry."

"That's ok. So what is yours gonna be?"

"Ummm…" Lissy didn't know what she wanted her name to be. She was never really good at these things. Everyone would call her by this name, so she wanted it to be good.

"Well?"

"I'm not quite sure. You got any ideas?" Lissy doubted it, but she might as well ask.

Singah looked at Lissy, trying to think of something that would describe her.

"You got, nice eyes? I don't know either"

"Nice eyes? Oh yes, that would make a good one." She said jokingly.

Singah laughed. "Well I don't know! Lashes?" She had noticed Lissy's lashes which were dark and long. She was just naming things off the top of her head that came to her.

"Hey, I like that!"

"Huh?" Singah asked confusedly. 

"Lashes, I like it!"

"Oh." She said, recovering quickly. "Well of course it is!"

"Would that be a good newsie name?"

"Believe me, that's good compared to some of them. You know the guy at the DO? His name is Splat." She giggled. "Wonder how he got that name"

Lissy laughed along with her. "Well then Lashes it is!"


	16. New Newsie

"You girls read yet?" Bottlecap yelled at the door to the girls bunkroom.

"We're coming!! Jeez, patience is a virtue!" Singah yelled back. She had just heard that saying the day before, and was using it every chance she got. Lashes giggled. This was her second day, and it was starting much better than her first had. 

"Come on Singah! You're ready! We have made him wait long enough." 

Singah, who had just been sitting on her bed for about the last two times Bottlecap had asked, laughed. "Ok! Fine." 

They both got up and walked down the stairs and into the sitting room, where Bottlecap was slumped over a chair, waiting for them. Hearing their footfalls coming down the stairs, he looked up. 

"Finally! How long does it take you two to get ready! I know girls are slow in the getting ready department, but really!" 

Singah and Lashes giggled. Rolling his eyes, he added, "We have to head down to the DO, most of the newsies have already left."

"Well, we're ready to go!" Singah piped up. And ran out the door, with Bottlecap and Lashes coming quickly behind. 

~*~*~*~

About five minutes later, Hayden had the water in sight. One more minute and he was at the docks. Seeing a ticket booth for the ferry, he walked over to it. 

"Hello young man, and how can I be of service to you?" A thin, lean man with sea-washed clothes asked.

Hayden was a little surprised; he had never been addressed so nicely. After all, he was just a poor boy working as a newsie. "Umm, I was just wondering how much it would be for a ticket up the river to Norristown."

"The only boats that go up river are for cargo. Transportation for supply, not people." The man replied. At seeing the disappointed look on Hayden's face, he added. "But, there can always be some…exceptions."

"Really?" Hayden's face lit up. Maybe it will work out after all, he thought.

"Well, there is usually some extra room along with the cargo. I'll see what I can do. Just sit here and watch the booth, while I go and try to pull a few strings." He said, winking.

Hayden watched him walk away. 

~*~*~*~

"Strange death of hundreds in the harbor!!" Lashes shouted over the noise of the crowd. It was still her first day of training and she was almost done.

"What did you get _that_ from?" Bottlecap asked, watching her sell three papers from the 'improved' headline, confused but impressed at the same time.

"Ahh, few fish found dead on shore. Didn't say they were people now did I?" She giggled.

"Geez, you are a natural born newsie! I don't think I need to train you all that much."

"Well, I have watched you and…" she paused. "And Hayden."

Out of the blue someone ran into Lashes, making her fall backwards and drop her few remaining papers. "Hey!" She yelled, struggling to get up. Once she did she saw a girl looking about her age with dark hair and eyes looking at her with a frightened face. The girl turned around and started running again, this time with Lashes in tow.

"Lashes!! Where are you going?" Singah yelled after her. Looking the other way, she saw someone coming towards them running after Lashes and the other girl. It was one of the bulls. Bottlecap saw it too, and promptly put his way innocently in the bull's path. As planned, he ran straight into Bottlecap making them both fall to the floor.

"Out of my way kid!" The bull shouted standing up. But too late, the girls were all ready out of sight. "Damn! Watch where you're going next time!"

"Sorry sir, I will." Bottlecap said innocently, backing away as the bull turned and left.

Singah was just watching the whole thing with her mouth hanging half way open. "I can believe you did that to a bull! Are you crazy!"

"Nope, just good."

"Right." She said, rolling her eyes.

"They're coming back." Bottlecap said, on tiptoes looking over the crowds. About a minute later, Lashes was standing in front of them with the dark-haired girl by her side.

"So," said Bottlecap. "What was that all about?"

The dark haired looked at her shoes. "Well, I sorta, umm…"

"Sorta what?"

"Stole some food. It's not like it's that bad! I have to. I have no other food to eat."

"Why not?"

"I kinda ran away…"

"Why?"

The girl gave him one of those I'm-not-gonna-tell-you-so-you-might-as-well-save-your-breath looks.

"Hey uh, Bottlecap?" Lashes said fidgety "Can I talk to you?"

"Yea, of course."

She grabbed him and yanked him down, whispering in his ear. "Well, she doesn't have a home, and we have lots of room in the lodging house, and she is just around Singah's and mine age! Getting where I am going with this?"

"Yea, I get it." He said straightening up. "So kid, you need a place to stay? You will have a roof over your head and food on the table, but you gotta work for it."

"Yea!" She hesitated. "But where is this place? What do I have to do?"

"Be a newsie."

"A newsie?" she repeated, a little surprised.

"Yep!" Singah piped up. "It's great, we have a room all to ourselves, and selling isn't too hard."

"Well I guess so, I have no where else to go."

"Alright then, we should be getting back anyways. So lets go." Bottlecap said starting to the direction of the lodging house, with one more newsie in tow than there was that morning.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry sorry sorry sorry, I haven't updated in such a long time! But I hope that this will keep you guys over for a little bit, and I really will try harder to write more and update sooner! So please hit the little button and review!! 


	17. ~*~Author's Note~*~

Ok, here it is in a nutshell: I don't know if I will be continuing with this story. My inspiration is leaving me, and so are the voices, and…. don't have the greatest amount of time on my hands. If I get enough requests I will probably finish it to the end, and if the inspiration comes back maybe even do a sequel. But if it has gone downhill, just tell me so I can start another story or something. No reason in continuing it. It might even be that I will have a bunch of time this summer and I will write a whole tone more, don't know. So please tell me, and I will post my decision soon. So, that's about it. 

~Lashes


	18. Up the River

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok ok ok ok!!!! I will continue writing this story, because there are people who would like me to continue it. I will try my best to keep up, and to update, which I haven't done in like…forever!! Lol, sorry bout that!! But it is now the summer, and I have more time on my hands to listen to the voices, which haven't been very talkative lately, but maybe…if they had some encouragement…like reviews…they would speak up a bit more ;-). Lol. (Take a hint??) And by the way, I will be on vacation soon, so don't be expecting an update for about 2 or 3 weeks…. sorry but I need the sanity in my life of a vacation!! Lol :-)

While waiting for the man to get back, Hayden had fallen asleep. The man in charge of the booth came back and shook him gently. "Hey there young man. It's time to wake up." The man said quietly. "And that ship full of 'cargo' is leaving in a few minutes." He added with a grin. At that Hayden gave a start and was fully awake instantly.

"You mean you really got me a place on the cargo boat?"

"Wouldn't say so if I didn't." Seeing the shocked face on the boys face, the man chuckled, making the laugh lines in his face play. "Now c'mon, can't have 'em leaving without you!"

Hayden got up quickly and followed the man to where a few ships were docked and loading up their cargo. "You see that one that's full of mail?" The man asked, and continued when Hayden nodded. "Well that is the one that you will be going up the river on. The captain knows that you will be there, but not the crew, so keep low so as not to give 'em all a scare and think you are a stow away." He chuckled, giving Hayden the feeling that he had done this before. "Just make sure not to fall asleep on there, cause you gotta be wary as to when your stop comes up, not all this cargo is going to Norristown ya know."

"Ok, I can stay awake." Hayden said rubbing his eyes. "I can!" He added when the man gave him a skeptical eye. 

"Hope so, for your sake, cause I think the next stop is about 30 miles up the river. And I don't think you will be able to find a nice old man at the Pottstown ports who could get you a ride back down the river. It is going to be a long boat ride though, so you could probably get a few winks now, but be sure to stay alert when you come into ports. Cause that's when the crew is moving around and such. Just listen to what they are talkin' about to find out what port you are in."

"Ok." This was all a little mind-boggling for Hayden. He wasn't used to people being this nice. And this was the last thing that he expected to be happening. "How long _does_ it take to get to Norristown from here?"

"About a day or so. More or less." He stated simply.

Hayden was shocked. "Good thing I decided not to walk."

The man, giving a hearty laugh, said. "You bet it's a good thing! That is a long way for a boy of your age to be walking without an adult. Say, where _are_ your parents?"

Hayden flushed and put his head down. "I don't have any parents, they died in a fire last year." He lied quickly.

"Oh, sorry to hear that." The man replied, looking at him sidelong. He had a feeling that the boy wasn't being entirely truthful to him, but he shrugged it off. "Well, that boat is bound to take off in a few minutes, so you better get moving."

Hayden looked up, the redness gone from his face. "How am I supposed to get up there without them seeing me?"

"Well the crew is below decks right now, sorting the mail. So I can take ya up, and the captain can put you in the captain's cabin. No one will be goin in there, so as long as you keep quiet, nobody but the captain will know that you're there."

"Ok."

"Alright then. Let's go." He led the boy up the ramp leading to the boat's deck, and from there to the cabin built on the top where the captain was. Opening the door, he caught the captain's attention. "Heya Mr. Butterworth. Got some cargo here." He said patting Hayden on the back. 

The captain was an old man, with white hair sprouting it seemed from everywhere on his head, but the top which was as bald as an egg. He looked up, adjusting his eyes to look at the man and the boy that he had with him. "This the boy you were talking about?" He asked gruffly. 

"Yep, this is the one." 

"As long as he stays out of my way, I'm fine with it. Ya hear that boy? Don't get in my way, or I might just be tempted to throw ya overboard!" The captain threatened. Hayden turned white under his stare, nodding. 

The man laughed quietly to himself. He had known the captain for a long time, and knew that he was just blowing hot air. "Well, I got to be getting back to my work now. You two have fun."

Hayden looked up at him; he plainly did not want the man to leave. "Thank you." He stuttered, which he didn't usually do. The man gave him a warm smile.

"No problem, you ever come back to town, you come down to the docks ya hear?"

"I will."

"Alright then, hope to see you again." He said. "And don't worry bout him." He added in a whisper, pointing to the captain, "His barks worse than his bite." With a wink to Hayden, and a wave to the captain, he strode out the door and out of sight, leaving Hayden alone with the captain. 


	19. Inky

Bottlecap, Lashes, Singah, and the new girl were all walking back to the Lodging House when Bottlecap stopped. The girls weren't paying attention and kept walking, into the back of him.

"Hey, that's why you look where you are going." He snapped, and then smiled.

"Sorry." They said in unison.

"Well, we are here. This is the Lodging House, your new home for however long you choose to stay with us. You are welcome here as long as you want." He went up the front steps and opened the door.

"So this is the Lodging House?" asked the dark haired girl, who was a little reluctant to go in.

"Yep, you get to share a room with us! And it's only us!" Singah giggled, she was very excited about getting another roommate. She went from being all alone in the bunkroom, to having two more roommates in two days. 

"C'mon!" Lashes said excitedly, practically dragging the girl up the stairs. "We have to show you the bunks, I have only been here for…" she thought for a moment. "Woah, it's only been two days! But being a newsie isn't so bad as you would think. I know I thought that at first, but you'll like it I promise you that!" She didn't stop dragging after the door but continued to do so until she was up the stairs, pointing things out the whole way. Bottlecap just looked on, smiling and shaking his head.

"And this is the sitting room." She said pointing to her left where a bunch of chairs were scattered, never slowing her pace. Once they were upstairs they took a left turn and came to a door. 

"Well." Said Singah. "This is it, the girls bunkroom!" She announced cheerfully, turning the doorknob and opening the door. The dark haired girl peered around her and into the dark room, taking in the bunks, where only two were made up. 

Coming up behind them, Bottlecap said, "It doesn't look like much now, but we have never really had any girls in the Lodging House until a few days ago. There are some extra sheets in the closet over there." He pointed to a corner on his left. "So you can make your bed and all that."

The girl was still surveying the room, so Bottlecap continued. "Well, I will leave you to get settled. Dinner should be soon, so get cleaned up and such." He said leaving the three girls alone.

"So?" Asked Singah. "What do ya think?" She had hopped onto her bunk and was leaning eagerly forward on her knees. 

"Well, it sure is a better home than I ever had." She replied quietly and smiled. "Which bunk is mine?"

Singah jumped off the edge of her bunk and tried to pull the bunk on the farthest side of the room closer, without success. "Well, if we can move this one closer, then you can have it!" The other two girls came over and helped her drag it nearer to the other two bunk beds. Lashes got the sheets out of the closet, and they all set the bed. Once they were all finished, they plopped down on their separate beds and stared through the wiring of the top bunk at the ceiling. 

"So what's your name?" Lashes broke the silence. 

Taking a moment to answer, the girl finally replied. "I don't know."

"Huh?" Singah asked. "How can't you know your own name?"

"I never knew my mother." She replied flatly.

"Oh."

"I was raised by my father, and he never paid much attention to me, only called me Kid. But even he thought I was too much trouble, so he was going to put me into an orphanage. So I ran away. That's why I have never really known my name. I think I have an older brother, about three years older. He might know it, but I don't know him, or where he could be."

They were all silent for a few minutes. The Lashes broke the silence a second time. "Well then we are just going to have to give you a name!"

The girl sat up. "Really?"

"Really." She replied sitting up, Singah following suit. 

"Well we will just do what you did with me Singah! Hmmm, you got dark hair, dark eyes, shows up against your light skin." 

Just then Bottlecap called from downstairs. "Heya girls, time for dinner! And don't make me wait this time!" 

"Alright! We're coming!" Singah yelled through the door. "Umm…. just think about it during dinner." She decided, getting up and running downstairs. Lashes and the girl followed her down.

~*~*~

After dinner, the girls went into the sitting room, to sit and give their full bellies a break. They were talking and giggling when one of the other newsies came walking in with some writing utensils-an unusual thing considering most newsies can't write, let alone afford then money to buy the items to do so-and tripped. He let go of the ink in his hand to break his fall. The girl stood up and shrieked, the ink that he had dropped, had dropped on her. 

Singah and Lashes, who were in a hyper mood, started laughing. Pretty soon the girl joined in. 

"You can borrow some of my clothes later, until you get the chance to wash those." Lashes said once she could stop laughing. 

"Ok, cause these are the only clothes I have on me." She stated, frowning.

"Wait!" Singah nearly screamed it.

"What?!" Lashes and the girl both jumped surprised by her outburst. 

"That is a perfect name!" 

"What?!" They asked again.

"Duh! She doesn't have name, it fits!"

"What fits?"

"Seriously, sometimes I need to wonder about you two. Inky, it's a good name for a newsie! Dark hair and eyes, ink…getting the big picture I am painting for you??" 

It took a moment for them to register, and then the girl started jumping up and down. "It's a good name! I like it!" 

Singah grinned. "I _am_ pretty good at this naming thing, aren't I?"


	20. Manhattan

Author's Note: Hey all!! Sorry if it takes a little longer for me to update for a while. I just got home from a wonderful 2-week vacation in Maui! Lol, so I haven't exactly been able to write for 2 weeks. And, I have camp coming up pretty soon, and lots of stuff to do in between! So I will try my best to update as soon and fast as I can! Thanks for being patient!! :-) So read on!!

~*~*~2 years later~*~*~

Kid Blink collapsed on his bed that day after a long day of selling papers. Mush, who had the bunk next to him, copied him. 

"Why ya so tired Blink? We didn' work dat hard taday!"

"I jus haven't been sleepin dat well lately." He responded, his voice muffled through his pillow. 

Mush sighed. "Are yous havin those dreams again? The ones dat you had when ya first got here?"

"Yes." He reluctantly admitted. "I don know what I am gonna do! I am nevah gonna get any sleep the way I'm goin! Don even know why I try. I jus lay there for hours, thinking, and when I do sleep, I have dreams…" He wouldn't have admitted this to any one but Mush, who was his best friend. Mush had made him feel welcome when he came to the Manhattan Lodging House, looking for a job and a place to stay. He had even offered him the bunk next to his. That had been the worst time that he could remember, coming to New York.

"What are your dreams bout?" Mush asked, curious. He had asked Blink this before, but he had never told him, and didn't figure that he would now. 

"Home."

"Home, I can even have dreams bout home, cause dis is da only one I'se evah had. What is it bout your home dats got ya all in sleepless wreck?" 

It took a moment for Blink to answer, he didn't know if he wanted to. Nobody here knew about his past and he had liked it that way. But now he decided that it was time to let someone see into his past. 

~*~*~

"Lashes c'mon!! We have got to get to the DO before the guys get there!" Singah yelled up the stairs at her. 

"I'm coming! I just have to find my - a ha! My hat! Coming!!" She yelled back, running down the stairs and pinning her hair under her hat, nearly bowling Singah and Lashes over in the process. 

Inky ran to the door and held it open. "They already left a few minutes ago Lashes!" They had made it a bit of a 'friendly' competition to get to the DO first everyday, before the boys. 

"Hold on! _They_ don't have the shortcut we found! _They_ go the direct route! And _they_ are probably walking because they will expect us to still be back here!" Lashes said, running out the door and turning into the nearest alley with Singah and Inky in tow. She continued to lead them through a series of alleys and side streets, and finally came out a block down from the DO. Lashes could see that the guys weren't there already, so she kept running until she had climbed up the DO stairs, which she promptly sat on trying to catch her breath. Singah and Inky did the same.

Inky giggled. "We made it in time that we can even catch our breath before they get here!" 

Lashes grinned. "Told you we wouldn't be late!"

"Can't wait to see the look on their face when they get here and see us with our papes!" Singah laughed along with them. 

The moment they figured that they had sufficiently caught their breath, they got out their money and went to get the papes from Splat. "Sixty papes each please." Lashes said with a smile, putting down the combined money for the tree of them. 

"Are you sure only sixty?" He asked.

"We're sure!" Inky replied. He tried to get them to buy more everyday. "If we wanted to sell more we would."

"And could." Singah added. 

"Alright then, there's your papes." He handed the papers through the iron-barred window. "See ya tomorrow."

"Thanx." They all said at the same time. They went to the edge of the platform and sat down with their papers in their laps, waiting. None too soon, the guys turned the corner and came into view, Bottlecap leading the group. Nearing the gate, their mouths dropped. 

"Ahh, the wait was well worth the look on their faces!" Singah whispered, trying to keep a straight face. 

"Well, well, well. Look who lost _again._ Tsk tsk, we would think that you would have beat us by now." Lashes teased, looking at Inky and Singah in turn. "Guess not." She added with a grin. 

"Close your mouths and stop catching flies!" Bottlecap warned them. "We got some papes to sell!" He finished, leading the boys up the stairs. With nobody looking, he gave them a quick smile. He thought that the look on the boys' faces when they lost was always a good one, even if he too lost. 

"We'll be off then." Lashes said loudly, hopping off the platform. 

"Yea, want to get to selling before too many newsies are out there." Inky chimed in. They walked casually out the gate before the boys had even started buying their papers. Once out of site they started laughing. 

"That was great!" Singah said between peals of laughter. Gathering their wits, they stopped laughing and started selling.

~*~*~

"Before I came to Manhattan, I was livin in Philly with my sistah and dad. My dad was real mean, and violent too. He beat my mom, she died cause a it. When dat happened, he started to beat me an my sistah. Pretty soon, I got tired of it. I didn't want to stay there, and I didn want my sistah there either. So one night when my dad was passed out from drinkin too much, I took my sistah and left. I took her to da Philly Lodgin House, and left her there. I went to here. But before I left, I promised her dat I would come back for her when I had da money. Dat was just bout two years ago now."

Mush was silent. "Is dat what you'se been havin dreams bout then? Yer dad?" He asked.

"No, it's not so much my dad, as it is my sistah. I promised her dat I would come back! And it's been two years. Two!! She probably is thinkin that I won't come back for her anymore." He sighed. "I don know what I am gonna do bout my dreams."

"Well, have ya saved enough money?" Mush asked.

"By now I am thinkin I musta." 

"Then dere is only one thing ta do." He said with a grin. When Blink looked at him blankly, he said. "Isn't it obvious??? You have ta go to Philly!"

Author's Note: This time it was not my fault that it took so long to update! Lol. Because I have actually been writing, just that as everyone knows, fanfiction, has not been working lately . . .


	21. Leaving

"Whaddaya mean go to Philly?" Blink asked picking himself up, a look of shock on his face.

"Aww c'mon dere Blinky-boy, don tell me yous nevah though of befoah. If yous has the money, and are still havin the dreams, isn't it obvious what ya havta do?" Mush stated simply. 

"Well, I guess dat makes sense."

"A coise it makes sense!" Mush exclaimed proudly. "I thought a it!"

"Right." Blink said rolling his eyes.  "We gotta ask Cap though." 

"We can do dat. I mean, he's gotta let us go, right?" 

"I don know! When I came here, well, you know what happened." He said uncomfortably, he had become accustomed to the patch over his left eye but he was not yet accustomed to the looks that some people gave him because of it. He felt a sudden fear in his chest. What would Lissy think about it? Would it make her cringe? He sighed once the moment of fear passed. Of course she wouldn't, he thought hopefully. 

"Yea, I know. But I mean, he's gotta realize dat you gotta go, or else you mat nevah be getting any sleep." He laughed. Blink laughed half-heartedly.

"Yea, dat's what I'se afraid of."

~*~*~*~

Once they were done selling their papers, the Philadelphia Lodging House girls decided to walk back to what they all now called home. It was still early in the afternoon and had already been walking for a while, mostly in silence, Lashes not talking at all.

"Lashes what's wrong?" Inky finally asked.

"Yea, you haven't said a word since you sold your last pape, what's up?" Singah said. Lashes had a quieter side, but it wasn't usual for her to be quiet for this long.

"Nothing." She replied. Inky and Singah looked at each other, and both rolled their eyes. 

"You don't think we know you well enough by now to know when something's wrong?" Inky said. 

"And when you are telling a, uh, slight fib?" Singah added. Causing Lashes to give her a warning look. She looked away, sighing. "You know about my brother right?" They nodded. "Well, I've been thinking a lot about him lately." She faltered. "And why he hasn't come back." She looked down. Inky and Singah exchanged glances again, this time concerned. "And I was thinking, since he hasn't come back for me, why can't I go and look for him?" 

"Woah there horsie, stop right there. Are you saying that you want to go to New York?" Inky asked wide-eyed. 

"I was thinking about it." 

"You _have_ to be crazy!" Singah exclaimed. "We got a good thing going here, do you just want to give it up and go to the big city?? And besides, Bottlecap would never let you go! We _are_ only eight you know, he wouldn't dare trust us going alone." She stated simply.

"When did this turn in to an 'us'?" Lashes smiled.

"Well you don't think we would let you go and have all the fun, do ya?" Inky grinned. 

"If we could go at all!!" Singah chimed in, trying to be the voice of reason. But it didn't seem that they wanted to be reasoned with, they were already too excited about it. "Fine! Go and ask Bottlecap if ya want to! See what he says, I dare ya." She said noticing that they were both giving her bored looks. Singah giggled, "Ok, ok! I know when to shut up. But I still bet ya."

"I'll take you up on that." Lashes said confidently lifting her chin up. "How much are you willing to lose?"

"A nickel."

"Psh! You are cheeeeap! At least make it worth my time, a dime… at _least._"

"Alright, ten papes worth a money then, you're on." She said spitting in her hand and holding it out. Lashes followed suit and the shook on it.

~*~*~*~

"Cap?" Blink asked walking up to Manhattan's Lodging Houses leader. "Can I talk to ya for a minute?"

"Sure Kid, what can I do ya for?" He said turning away from the poker game he was playing. "Umm, somewhere else?" Blink asked. Cap looked at him for a moment trying to read his face. "Aight Kid. I will be right back fellas. And don't even be thinking about cheatin." He added with a warning glance at each of the players in turn, his eyes the longest on Race who was known for his gambling and want to win. Once he was done he stood up at walked with Blink to the corner of the Sitting room. "So what's up?"

"I umm…" He started uncomfortably, twisting his hands behind his back. "I was jus wonderin if…"

"Jus spit it out Kid." Cap said.

"I was wonderin if I'se could go back ta Philly and find my sistah." He blurted out, making it all sound like one big word. Cap's eyes widened momentarily, and then he looked like the calm and steady leader again. "Philly eh?"

"Yes, sir." He added the last part on, hoping to curry a little favor with him. Cap frowned. "I don like the sound a that. You an I both know dat New York ain't exactly the safest place in da world. Let alone for a ten year old ta go by himself."

"Well… I wouldn't exactly be goin be my self. Mush said dat he would go wit me too." He gave Cap a hopeful half-smile. Seeing that Cap wasn't being convinced, he knew that he had to tell him. "Look, Cap. I don really wanna take the trip eitha, but I havta. You see, I've been havin these dreams bout home… and I don think dey will go away unless I go back to Philly, and straighten out wat's been botherin me."

"Well what has been bothering you?"

Blink looked at his feet. "I've been havin dreams bout my sistah. I told her I would come back for her, and dat was two yeas ago. I _need_ ta go ta Philly. Please Cap?" He asked looking up.

Cap sighed. He had realized by now that Blink would go whether he had his permission or not, but he figured that the boy would probably prefer to have his permission than not. "Ok, I'll let ya go." Blink grinned broadly. "But." He continued. "Mush is gonna go wit ya, and ya gotta be safe. Don't get bigheaded wit freedom or nuthin like that. If you guys don come back, then I'm out two newsies, and dat's bad for business." That was basically just Cap's way of saying that he didn't want to see them go for good. 

"Aight then, we'se can do dat. Thanks Cap." Cap clapped him on the shoulder and Blink turned around to go back up the stairs and pack.

Author's Note: Hey all, thanks for reading, and remember… review!! Hehe, you knew it was coming ;-). Anyways, I am going to be leaving in a few days for a little over a week with no access to a computer, and therefore will not be writing, so sorry in advance for the delay in posting. I will try to get one more chapter up before I leave!! Bye!


	22. Good-byes

Author's Note: Hello all, thanks for reading! This will be the last update for about a week or so, because I am leaving tomorrow for camp. So please be patient, and read on!

RAE: Yes, yes, yes! You will be coming in sometime in the near future! So stop asking me! Lol ;-P.

MOTH: Ya sure you know what's coming up next?? ;-D

Bottlecap was not aware that Lashes was behind him until she cleared her throat to make it known. He turned around. "Hey, what's up? Nice speech ya gave today." He winked, referring to how she had talked to the boys when she and the girls had beaten them.

"Ummm." She started, rocking back and forth on her feet. "I… I want to go to New York, Bottlecap." She said looking up at his face and trying to read it. His face remained unreadable however, so she looked back down at her feet and continued to rock, biting her lip. 

"New York huh?" He said finally. His face grew dark once Lashes had looked away. "Why?"

"You know why." She said, talking to her feet. "It's been two years Bottlecap." She looked up at him, and was startled to see that he looked sad, but continued. "Two years is a long time. And since he hasn't come back to get me, I want to go there."

"And let me guess, Singah and Inky want to go with ya too?" Hw knew them well enough after two years to know that where one went, they all went.

"Yes." She said at almost a whisper. 

He sighed, it had been two years since the three girls had come to the Lodging House, and none had come since. Well, some had come and gone, but they were the only ones that kept to it when it got rough for a girl to be a newsie. "Well I'm sorry to see ya go."

Lashes was startled. "What?" She didn't know if she had just heard him right, but she thought he just said that she could go.

"I said that I'm sorry to see you go." He repeated louder. She knew for sure now that it was sadness that she saw on his face. Seeing the confusion and surprise on her face he said, "Well if you want to go, you have to go. This is something that you have to do, and I am not going to stop you." A look of sadness crept over Lashes face too. She had wanted to go and see her brother so badly, that she hadn't realized how much she would miss the people who she had become close to here. 

"You better go and pack. I assume that you will be leaving right away?" He said after a long silence. She nodded, and turned around and was about halfway up the stairs when she turned around. "Bottlecap?" She asked.

"Yea Lashes?" He said, his back to her.

"Thank you." She said. By the time he turned around she was already in her room and closing the door. "You're welcome." He said softly.

~*~*~*~

"Mush!" Blink yelled running into the boys' bunkroom.

"What?" Mush yelled back, startled.

"We can go!"

"He said yes??"

"YES! We are gonna leave today, so start packing!" Blink said excitedly. Mush grinned. "Already done."

"What?" Blink was too occupied putting his things together to pay much attention to him. "Already packed." Blink stopped rummaging through the items he had dumped on his bed. "You already packed? But what if we didn't go?" Mush shrugged. "Then I woulda had to unpack." He threw a bag at Blink who opened it up. Sure enough, the stuff he needed was in there and packed. Looking up he said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

~*~*~*~

"Thank you, Bret." Lashes said using Bottlecap's real name for the first time and throwing her arms around him. He returned the hug, speechless that she had used the name that he hadn't heard in years. He wasn't even sure how she knew it. 

"Yea, thanks." Singah pause. "Bottlecap." She wouldn't dare use his real name. "Thanks!" Inky piped up.

"Alright you girls don't be getting too sappy one me." He said, acting like the tough leader again. "Why don't you get going? You'll want to travel some distance before night comes. And be careful, ya hear? I don't want you girls getting hurt. New York is a lot different that Philly."

Inky put her hands on her hips. "He doesn't think that the three of us can take care of ourselves." That was the sort of attitude that usually got them into trouble, Bottlecap groaned. "Please, don't do anything stupid!"

"Us? Stupid? Nah." Singah said with a confident air. 

"C'mon! We gotta leave. Thanks again Bottlecap." Lashes said. "See ya round."

"Bye Bottle cap." Inky and Singah said before turning around and following Lashes out the door…

~*~*~*~

The girls had only brought one bag with all of their belongings in it to take turns holding. The bag was being held by Singah at the time, who wasn't very happy about it. "How long do I havta hold it for?" 

"Until one of us does." Lashes replied. Singah shifted the bag on her back and kept going. All of a sudden someone stepped in front of them, blocking out the sun so that they couldn't see who it was at first. Once Lashes recognized the man, her pace paled and her knees nearly buckled. "D-d-d-ad." She stuttered. 

The man reached out and grabbed her by the arm. "You're not getting away this time girl." He growled and started walking away, Lashes still in his grasp. There was nothing that Inky or Singah could do but watch. 


	23. Caught

Author's Note:** ***Dodges various objects thrown***** I'm sorry! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! On a nasty cliffhanger too… hehe. *Is hit in head with a shoe***** Hmph. Well here is your next chapter! So eat, drink, read and be merry! :-P. 

Lashes woke up with her head throbbing. She tried to lift herself up, but it just made her head swim even more. Trying to figure out where she was, why, and how, she finally remembered the events of the past night and a tear slid down her cheek. The thing that she had feared the most since she had come to the Lodging House two years ago had come true. She wanted to go back to sleep and wake up back in the Lodging House, she knew it wouldn't happen, but she slipped into unconsciousness anyhow.

~*~*~*~

Hayden and Mush were back on the road again. They had spent their night at the Staten Lodging House and were planning to go to the nearest train station. They were walking down the roads of Staten Island when Mush said something to Blink.

"What?" asked Blink. He hadn't been paying attention, he was thinking about his sister and what she would look like now. 

"I said: the train station is only a few streets down now." Mush repeated. "Where are you today?"

"In Philly." Blink sighed. "I can't stop thinkin bout her Mush. I think I would go crazy if I didn see her soon." He laughed jokingly. "I'm excited though, two years is a long time." 

By now Mush had long been able to read Blink's face, and he saw that Blink was something more than excited: nervous. A few minutes later they came onto the train station and wiggled their way through the crowds. After they had gotten through the crowds and lines, they were at the front of the ticket-buying booth. 

"Can I help you?" The man behind the counter asked, giving them a strange look. 

"Yea, two tickets for Philadelphia please." Blink replied politely, which was the opposite of what the man was being to them right now with his looks of disgust, no doubt because of how they were dressed. 

"That will be fourteen dollars." He replied, it was obvious the man didn't think they had the money. Mush slapped the amount onto the counter with an unpleasant grin. "Every penny, _sir_." He said the last part with dripping sarcasm. The man took the money stiffly and counted it out. "Very well then. Here are your tickets." He handed them the tickets and Mush grabbed them out of his hand, giving him one last look. 

"Geez, would you believe dat guy?" Mush said after they had gotten out of the crowds again. "He looked the whole time as if he was smelling something bad, and I know we don cause we took showers dis mornin!" 

"Yea." Blink said. It seemed as though he was somewhere far away again, looking at his ticket.

Rolling his eyes Mush grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon, we gotta go find da train, don wanna miss it now."

~*~*~*~

Lashes had waken up again with only a slight headache this time. She still didn't want to rise; all the same she knew she would have to sooner or later. She lifted herself up slowly and put her legs over the side of the bed she was laying on. Getting up she tiptoed as quietly as she could to the door and turned the handle very slowly. Making no noise she opened the door up a crack to see out. When she didn't see anything there, she opened the door wider and slipped out. She never thought that she would see this apartment again, and had hoped even harder these past two years that she would never have to be in it again. She already knew all the boards that creaked and how to make as least noise as possible, and so she was searching through the house to see if she was alone or not. After she had looked into all the rooms, she found that her father must have already left for work. The first thing that came to mind when she realized this was how to get out and away before he got back. Making no more effort to be quiet she went to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. It wasn't only locked with a heavy padlock, but also with a key lock she did not know where the key would be, and knew that her father would have the only one. Not giving up she went to the windows next. They were locked also. After living in that apartment for six years she realized that there was no other way out. Lashes sank to the floor in tears.

~*~*~*~

After Inky and Singah had gathered their wits the night before, they had followed the form of Lashes' father through the crowd. The watched him go into an apartment building, holding a struggling Lashes. They had decided to wait until he had left for work in the morning and wait until then to try and help, but until then they resolved to sleep in the alley next to it.

When morning came it found Inky and Singah quite achy. Waking up they remembered why they were laying on the floor in an alley and got up. "Which place do you think is theirs?" Inky asked. 

"I dunno, she never said anything about that." Singah replied, following suit.

"Then how are we supposed to be the 'rescuers' if we don't know where she is?" Inky said exasperatedly. 

"Well, I guess we should just sorta… uh… knock on all the doors? I don't know!"

"Do places like these have landlord? You know, like we have at the Lodging House? Because we could just ask them, and they will know."

"You know that just might work." Singah said, her eyes lighting up and a smile creeping across her face. 

~*~*~*~

"There's our train Blink!! There it is!" Mush said excitedly making his way towards the train with Blink in tow. Blink was going through all sorts of emotions at that moment: excitement, nervousness, nausea… 

"Tickets please?" Asked a man in a uniform next to the train door. Mush and Blink got out their tickets and showed it to him. "Ok then, have a nice trip." The man said with a smile as the boys clambered up the steps to find themselves some seats. 

Author's Note: I will try to update soon so bear with me. 


	24. Freedom

Author's Note: Didn't take me so long to update this time! Thank you to all of my reviewers!! Inky, Raider, Corky, Vix, Blinks-Tiger, and Rae. 

Rae: No more throwing objects at me, let alone sporks….:-P

Singah and Inky went into the apartment building and just as they thought there was a door marking where the landlord lived. Singah went up and knocked on the door, they heard footsteps coming. An old man with a long beard opened the door squinting at them. "Yes?" He asked them.

"Hello." Singah said politely. "We were looking for the room where Melissa Brooks lives. Could you tell us what number she lives at?" 

"Melissa… Melissa…" The man pondered tugging gently at his white beard. He cleared his throat, "Eh-hmm, I think they live in… room thirty-two. Third floor, second to the right I suppose." The man mumbled.

"Thank you." Inky said giving an uncertain smile as the man turned around still mumbling and closed the door. 

"Right then." Singah said heading towards the stairs.

~*~*~*~

Mush had led them to a pair of empty seats in one of the last train cars. They sank down in the comfortable seats and Blink gave a sigh, closing his eyes. "How long do ya think it'll take us ta get ta Philly?" He asked, about to fall asleep in his chair.

"I dunno?" Mush replied. "Faster than walkin dat's for sure!!" He grinned. "Aww c'mon Blink!! Ya can't pass out on me already, I'm not gonna stay awake all by myself the whole time." He said poking Blink.

"Go away." Blink replied, trying to turn around in his chair, and nearly falling out in the process. He opened his eyes and crawled back into his chair to see Mush trying not to laugh. "Laugh away, but I don think you'll be laughin after I cream ya at cards!" He challenged. 

"Well if I didn know any bettah, I'd say that was a sorta a threat."

"Well if _I_ didn know any bettah, I'd say that yous was getting smatah." Blink said pulling a deck of cards out of his bag.

~*~*~*~

Lashes was still on the floor when she heard a pair of steps coming up the stairs. At first she thought they were coming towards her room and held her breath, but she released it when she realized that the steps kept going. She could hear muffled voices through the door, so she stood up and walked quietly over towards the door putting her ear up against the wood. 

"He said room thirty-two! It's over here, c'mon!" Said one of the voices

"Are you sure? I don't know if that man was quite right in the uh… memory." Countered the other. 

"Well you never know until you try!" Came the reply of the first voice, sounding quite irritated. Lashes mouth dropped. She rushed to unlock the door and remembered that the door was not only locked from the inside, but from the outside also. "Dang it!" She breathed as she banged the door lightly, but it was loud enough for the voices outside to hear, because they paused in the middle of what one of them was saying. Noticing this, Lashes hit the door again. "Inky? Singah?? Is that you two?" She said through the door. The voices outside the door shuffled over to Lashes door. 

"Lashes? Is that you?" One of the voices asked, which she recognized as Singah's voice. 

Lashes gave a sigh of relief. "You can't believe how glad I am to hear you guys!"

"C'mon, open the door! We're here to break you out!" Said Inky's excited voice from the other side of the door. 

Lashes grimaced. "That's not exactly gonna be so easy."

"Why not?" Their voices asked in unison.

"Can you see a keyhole on the outside?"

"Yea, why?"

"Well there isn't a way to unlock it on the inside. Believe me! I have tried, you need to have the key, and I'm betting that the only one there is my father has, because I have searched everywhere already!"

"You know what the stupidest mistake everyone makes?" Singah asked Lashes while Inky giggled. "They all put their spares in the same place."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean?" She questioned as she heard a small click and the door swung open, her mouth dropping. "Where in the world did you get that?!" 

"There is always a spare." Singah said triumphantly. "And most people are stupid enough to put them all in the exact same place." She rolled her eyes.

"Yea! Under the door mat!" Inky said, still giggling.

"Stop gaping, it don't become you." Singah said with a grin. 

Lashes closed her mouth. "Let's get out of here!" She steered them out the door, closing and locking the door behind her, imagining the look on her fathers face when he would realize that she wasn't there, she couldn't help but laugh.

~*~*~*~

"Can we start the score over?" Mush asked frowning.

Blink just smiled. "What's the mattah? Can't take da heat?"

"I can take da heat! But geez, today must not be my day!" They had been playing cards the whole time, taking breaks only to eat drink, and for an occasional rest. 

"Royal flush." Blink said laying out his cards. Mush's mouth dropped. "But how?" Just then as if in cue on ending their game, a train worker in uniform walked into the car Mush and Blink were in. "Next stop Philadelphia, if that is your stop then please start gathering your belongings." The man exited. Blink's face went pale. With his good luck he had almost forgotten his reason for coming, but now that he was reminded again, he was beginning not to feel so well. 

"Ya hear that Blink? Philly! We're so close, you remember were da Lodgin House here is?"

"Yea, yea. I remember." Blink said distractedly gathering his things. His mind was on one thing right now: his sister. 


	25. A Shock In Philly

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took me so long to update!!!!!!!!! And RAE! No more sporks! I will have holes all over me by the time you finish throwing all those sporks at me! And then you won't get any chappies… 

Lashes, Singah, and Inky ran out of the building with smiles plastered across all their faces. They kept running for about two more blocks before they finally stopped to catch their breath. "So where do we go now?" Inky asked between gasps for air. Lashes frowned, she hadn't exactly thought much about that part of the plan, and it was a very important part. Lashes could tell by the look on Singah's face that she hadn't thought much of it either. 

"Well… We uh… could just sorta of walk until we come up with an idea!" Lashes said doubtfully, and was surprised when the other two agreed. "What direction then?"

"How about the river? That is a landmark we actually know that kinda points us in the direction of New York." Said Singah. 

"Ok then, that works." Lashes shrugged and the girls starting walking towards the river.

~*~*~*~

Blink and Mush got off the train. Mush looked around eagerly, drinking everything in with his mind. Blink kept his eyes down; he already knew this place and didn't need to see it again to know where he was going. He was too occupied trying to get his head to tell his stomach to keep his food in his stomach to pay much attention to where he was. "So where da we go from heah?" Mush asked catching Blink's attention.

"To da Lodging House I guess." Said Blink, "She should still be there." A sudden thought struck him. "What if she isn't there Mush? Whad am I gonna do if she isn't there?" His asked, eyes wide.

Mush clapped him on the back. "Course she's gonna be dere boy! Where else would she go?" He said as the same though crossed his mind. Oh well, he thought. No use in being a pessimistic! "So where _is_ dis Lodging House a yours anyways? I wonder if da Philly newsies is different from da New York newsies…" He mumbled his mind being carried away by a new topic. 

"Left. It's actually not dat far from heah." Blink replied.

"Well dat's good! Not in much of a walkin mood taday." 

~*~*~*~

It only took the girls a few minutes to get to the river; the first thing they saw was the docks where the boats were loading up. They kept walking toward the docks watching the workers lift the heavy boxes and crates when someone called after them. "Heya there little misses! Where do you think you're going?" They all turned around in unison to see a tall skinny man smiling at them with clothes that looked like he had been wearing them for years; and indeed he had. 

"We were uh…" Inky started.

"Going to New York." Singah mumbled, not meaning to be heard. The man in fact had very good hearing and did them. A memory of a young boy flashed across his memory but he dismissed it. "New York eh? And how do you plan on getting there?" He said noticing the surprised look on the girls' faces. 

"Well, we are going to take the…" Lashes gave up. "We don't know how we are going to get there." The man gave her an amused look and said, "Well I might just be able to help you then." The girls looked up with hope written all over their faces.

"Really?" Singah asked eagerly. "And you won't charge us will you?" She added with a squint. 

"No, no, no. No charge!" The man laughed. The memory of the boy came back to him again, and this time he remembered why. He had done the same thing for a boy about their age a few years back. He smiled to himself. Might as well just start a riverboat cruise company bound for New York, might actually make some money off of it, he thought jokingly. "Follow me and I'll see what I can do for you little ladies." The three girls followed him eagerly hardly believing their luck. 

~*~*~*~

"We dere yet? I thought you'se said it wasn't dat far!" Mush complained. 

"Actually, yes." Blink said looking up. "You see dat building halfway down da street? The big brick one wit da green door?" He pointed.

"Yeah, I see it. Now lets go dere! Actions speck loudah den words my boy!" 

"'My boy' eh? Who you think you are? I'm oldah den you anyways!" Blink retorted. 

"Jus jokin… my boy!" Mush said calmly and then made a run for it with Blink fast behind him. 

~*~*~*~

The man had kept to his word and the girls were safely stowed away on a boat next to a shipment of mail, the man apparently had connections. They had thanked him many times and were looking forward to the trip, although it promised not to be very eventful or even short for that matter. 

"So where in New York is your brother?" Inky asked curiously.

Lashes frowned. "I don't know exactly. But how many Lodging Houses could there possibly be? I assume that is where he would be. He was a newsie in Philly, and he liked it well enough, so I think he'd still be one. I'm almost positive."

Singah raised her eyebrows. "Almost positive eh? I'd better hope you were! New York is a pretty big place ya know!" 

"I know." Lashes sighed. "But he has to be there! He just has to!" The feeling of excitement was beginning to wear off, and the butterflies were moving into her stomach and she didn't expect then to go away anytime soon. "Never know until you try."

~*~*~*~

Blink opened the door and walked into the Lodging House, he could feel his heart pounding inside his chest. "Hello?" He called. "Bottlecap? Ya here?" In answer to his call someone walked around the corner. "Heya." He said walking over and spitting in his hand. Holding his hand out to Blink, Blink repeated the gesture. "What ya need Bottlecap for?" The boy asked. 

"Do ya  know someone named Melissa?" He asked the boy hopefully. 

"No Melissa's here." 

Blink thought a moment. "Wait. What about da name Lissy?"

"There was a Lashes here if that helps any." The boy shrugged. "But she and the other girls left." 

"What?" Blink asked, eyes widening. "Can you get Bottlecap?"

"Yeah, yeah, hold yer horses." The boy said turning the corner. He returned a minute later with Bottlecap walking beside him. Bottlecap looked at Bottlecap, shock spreading over his features. "Kid!" He gasped taking Blink in a hug. "Where have ya been? What are ya doing here?" 

"Actually, I was looking for Lissy, where is she? Is she here?" Blink said excitedly. 

A pained look crossed Bottlecap's face. "What is it?" Blink asked. 

"I'm sorry, I told you I would watch after her. She's not here Kid. She left a few days ago… to go after you. She and two other girls, Inky and Singah." He trailed off. "I sent one of the newsies to follow them until they got out of Philly, and they only made it a few blocks before…"

"Before what?" Blink asked desperately grabbing at Bottlecap's arm. 

"Before they ran into your dad, Kid." The worried look on Bottlecap's face increased as Blink's face paled and he stumbled backwards running into Mush. "But… but you know my father Bottlecap! What are we going to do?"

"The only thing to do really, is to go there and get her back." Bottlecap stated, he had been asking himself the same question and this seemed to be the only solution. 

"See my father?" Blink whispered quietly. 


	26. Up the River for the Second Time

Author's Note: I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever!! L I have had so much work, and to tell ya the truth, haven't really thought about writing much lately. But I am trying to change that! And hopefully I will be able to update more and quicker!! This was going to be a longer chapter with more stuff happening in it, but due to demand I decided to update what I had for now, so I hope you enjoy! 

Kaylee and Corky: Sorry!! ^_^ I'll try to be faster about updating! Lol. 

Sneak: Thanks for the advice ;-) It's definitely been taken into consideration!!

Blink sank down to the floor in despair. "I dunno if I can go back dere Bottlecap… I don know if I can face him. Specially after I ran away! An I took Lissy away from him too! Who knows what he might do when I see him?" Blink hadn't cried in a long time, and he was determined not to right now, although he was finding it quite hard to do. He just couldn't think of a way that he could face his father again, two years was a long time… and to him, time hadn't healed the wounds his father had inflicted. Blink cleared his mind and tried to relax for a moment. "So how am I supposed to do this? Jus go dere an say 'Hi, haven't seen ya in about two yeahs after I ran away and took ya daughter with me, but now that you've found her can I have her back?'" 

"Well who knows? It could work." Bottlecap said, forever being a optimist, even when the situation was hopeless. Blink gave him a look like he was crazy and started laughing. "You and I both know that wouldn work in a million yeahs." 

"Never know until you try!" he retorted defensively. 

~*~*~*~

It felt like days that the girls had been on the boat huddled together, to them it seemed like the boat couldn't move any slower, about the pace the time also seemed to be moving at that moment. Inky sighed. "How long do you think it takes to get to New York?" 

"I don't know." Singah replied. "But it can't be much longer. I think swimming might take us there faster!!"

"You're just impatient. You know it's moving faster than a swimmer!" She laughed. "Although it doesn't seem like such a bad idea right now. I was so excited to go on a boat, but it really did get sorta old fast. Land is looking pretty good right now." They were all silent for a few minutes watching the scenery pass them by. "What do you think New York is like? I've heard all sorts of things, but a lot of them seem unbelievable. I can't wait to figure out which ones are true or not." 

"Well I know that it's big, with lots and lots of people. And I heard that there are singers and dancer and performers there." Her eyes widened. "Better than in Philly, better than the whole state! The best in all of the United States. Or at least that's what I've heard, I sure hope it's true!" 

"I heard that there's lots of people too, way more than in Philly. Can you imagine hoe many papes we could sell there? We can sell a lot in Philly, but if New York has as may people as I've heard, we can sell tons! It would be easier too. Sell fifty papes at just one corner! That would be the life! They have girl newsies there right? I mean, if Philly has em, then New York has to."

"Yea, once there was a guy newsie from New York who passed through Philly, ya remember that? I got to talk to him. He said that there is a district for girls! The whole district! The Lodging House and everything, can you imagine? Then we wouldn't have to be the only girls in a sea of boys!" Lashes giggled.

Singah smiled. "Yea! Wouldn't that be nice! I have to say though, I'm gonna miss the look of shock on the boys faces when we beat em to the DO. They can be fun sometimes, surprisingly." She sighed. "I wonder if New York is going to be anything like Philly. I want to go to New York, but… I'm gonna missy Philly a lot too."

"Yea." Inky agreed. "Too bad New York and Philly aren't closer." The scenery around them has been gradually changing. For the past few hours it had been nothing more than fields and occasional small towns. Now the little towns were becoming more common, and larger. "Do you think we're getting closer?" 

"Probably." Lashes responded, those butterflies that had been in her stomach at the beginning of the trip were starting to come back. She was beginning to have some doubts again, about where she would find her brother and how long it would take her. But then she thought, we wouldn't be on this boat right now if it wasn't meant to happen, and smiled. 

~*~*~*~

It had taken Blink a while to collect himself, but once he had, all he wanted to do was go to his old apartment and get Lissy, because anger and revenge was starting to replace fear and despair. Mush was starting to see something in his friend's eyes that he had never seen before, and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. "Well, bettah now than evah." Blink said with a smirk. With that, Mush decided it wasn't a good thing. 

"You think maybe we should uhh… eat, or sleep, or take a break foist? Ya know, take a break?" Calm down maybe, he thought to himself. 

"No, I don't." Blink said. "Now's a good a time as any. If I don go now, I might nevah go, and dis is something I need ta do." He headed for the door and looked back at the two boys staring at him. "Well you guys comin or not?"

~*~*~*~

"Next stop we're going to be unloading the New York City mail boys! So get ready to unload!" The captain yelled to his crew. They had to unload the New York City-bound mail in Port Jervis because there was no direct river route to the city itself. From Port Jervis the mail would go west by train to New City, where it would unload and get delivered. It was planned that the girls would be traveling with the mail all the way to New City so that they wouldn't have to walk the countless miles left. They were getting closer to their destination, but still had a bit of a trip left to go. Now it seemed the time was going faster than usual, and Lashes found herself wishing they were going slower again, for the nerves in her stomach were remaining disquieted. 

~*~*~*~

It had only taken the boys a matter of minutes to arrive at Blink's old apartment at the pace he was setting. They all stopped at the door of the building panting, Bottlecap and Mush exchanging worried glances. Once they had caught their breath Blink straightened up and opened the door. Walking in he looked back, "So you guys comin or not? No use standin around outside waitin for nothing to happen." Bottlecap and Mush followed Blink's suit and went into the building. Once they reached the stairs Blink stopped. "I think maybe I should go by myself. This is one of those things I have to do alone." 

"I dunno if dat is such a wise idea Blink." Said Mush. "Maybe we should go with ya. Don want ya doin anything like letting your anger take ovah your judgment." Subtlety wasn't one of Mush's better traits. Blink's face reddened and his fists clenched. Mush was taken aback, Blink was usually pretty levelheaded and never got mad like this. 

"Well it's a little late for the anger now isn't it Mush?" Blink retorted as he turned around and started up the stairs. Mush and Bottlecap exchanged a quick worried look before running after him.  


End file.
